


baby you are: just right

by missgine (blueberry_muffin)



Series: got7 twitter aus [3]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Social Media, but also a little bit of another college au?? lmao, childhood bestfriends, i can't write hs aus guys im sorry, i didn't even try to edit im sorry lol, sns au, so i have a meeting in half an hour and thought hey let's post another au haha, the spacing is weird im sorryyyyyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:06:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18433982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberry_muffin/pseuds/missgine
Summary: markson au where mark and jackson were childhood friends





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> idk what to say lol 
> 
> this first chapter will be all the posts up until the sns posts, then i'll post chapters by update, like my previous au
> 
> here's the [twitter thread](https://twitter.com/missg1ne/status/1116483802405199878?s=21)

-the tuans were in taiwan and the wangs moved there because jackson’s dad went there to coach one of his students 

-markson are like ⅚ or maybe 6/7 somewhere around those ages

-they ended up going to the same school and somehow meeting even though mark is one year above jackson

-during lunch time jackson sneaks out of his classroom and into mark’s 

-aww i bet they hold hands everywhere they can go together that’s so fucking sweet

-they go over to each other’s houses, meet each other’s family, eat off each other’s plates i bet

-they use their chinese names 

-i bet jackson asks papa tuan if he can marry mark

-papa tuan: “why do you wanna marry yien, jiaer?”

-jackson: “because en en makes me happy and i want to him to be that happy too!”

-papa tuan blinks and says that jackson is welcome in their family but mark has to say yes

-their moms are cooing in the background

-one of their grandmas is filming for posterity haha

 

-anyway

-when mark and jackson are like 11/12ish

-the contract between jackson’s dad and his fencing student ends so there’s really no need for the wang family to stay in taiwan + their visas aren’t renewed since the coaching contract wasn’t 

-so that means they gotta move back to hong kong

-they tell mark’s family first but they plan to tell mark and jack together

-they think jackson will cry first but it’s actually mark that cries first

-tears just start streaming down his face the second the last syllable is out

-and like it’s silent crying so no one notices it at first cuz they’re all waiting for jackson to tantrum

-so ofc jackson notices and like stumbles out of his chair to hug him and they sob together all clutching each other ahhhhhh

-tammy swears this scene was from a drama

-they convince their parents to let them get phones for this very reason haha

-so yeah the wangs move back to hong kong and mark and jackson have a farewell so emotional their entire families can watch the titanic indifferently now

-mark and jackson skype all the time omg it’s almost like jackson never left the tuans always see him once a day lol

-jackson starts to get more serious about fencing and starts training under his dad   
-he talked to his parents, his grandmother, his hongkong friends, and to mark about it as a serious career choice   
-if mark said he shouldnt jackson really would have stopped training   
-mark doesnt realize this   
-everyone else does   
  
-alternatively   
-mark also isnt sure about continuing his martial arts   
-jackson tells him over wechat that he’ll smack him with a saber if he gives it up   
-so ofc now that mark has a drive he becomes a black belt at 14 probably   
-the tuans move to la when mark is around 14/15 also cuz papa tuan wants to expand the family business and finds an opportunity to overseas   
-this affects the daily markson calls because of timezones   
-this is when they start texting more    
-this is also around the time when jackson gets a weibo haha   
-i bet its full of shitty quality screenshotted pics of mark lmfao   
  
-mark sometimes forgets to answer to “mark” at school cuz he’s not used to it   
-he has an accent cuz he came from overseas and someone made fun of him for it so he knocked them out   
-he got suspended but people thought that bully deserved it and made some automatic friends   
-calls jackson late at night cuz he’s suspended and not going to school and jackson is like dont you have school why are you calling????   
-mark tells him what happened and jackson is like trying to buy plane tickets to confront the bully, fist pump for mark’s victory over him, and scold mark for getting into a fight AND getting suspended all at the same time lol

-he probably slips into cantonese at some point so mark just let’s him go at it and just basks in jackson’s voice cuz it’s been a long time and he misses him

-jackson stops midrant cuz he sees mark smiling soft and sleepy to himself and he’s like “what?”

-and mark’s like “nothing i just miss hearing you talk”

-and jackson’s brain is like???????????????

 

-mama tuan calls mark down for dinner one day and she calls him mark cuz one of his sibling’s friend(s) are there and for a sec jackson is like who tf is mark?? before he remembers that’s yien’s english name haha

-highschool was probably really hard for markson and not academically or socially per se but just keeping in contact got a lot harder

-not only were they in different timezones, but jackson kept ranking higher in fencing tournaments and mark had after school activities and it got hard to really video chat each other and be able to text each other with both of them being present simultaneously

-they tried not to show how sad they were, cuz it wasn’t like they were drifting apart, it’s just that they could not sustain as much communication as they wanted due to their schedules and the timezones

-time flies and soon mark is turning 18 and his family agrees that literally nothing would make mark happier than seeing jackson lol

-so (the families totally keep in touch. i bet papa tuan and mama wang complain to each other about the dramas they watch haha) they all plan to get jackson to la for a weekend or whatever lol and their schedules all miraculously line up cuz i said so lol

 

-anway

-the tuan’s throw a bday party for mark 

-they invite some family, mark’s friends, his sibling’s friends for some food and cake and stuff

-only mark’s immediate family knows that jackson is hiding upstairs and is being constantly updated by tammy when to come down

-they smuggled him upstairs from the garage entrance when mark was distracted by his friends coming in 

-so they all sing him happy birthday and mark blows out his candles 

-so he’s standing up so ofc this is when they get jackson into the room and when mark is done blowing out his candles papa tuan is like i hope you like our present!

-and mark is like what? the party isn’t the present? and jackson taps on his shoulder so mark turns around 

-and he stumbles a little because what the heck lol

 

-jackson instinctively reaches out to steady him even after all these years

-and marks is like what the heck???? cuz jackson is here and he’s real cuz that’s his hand on mark’s arm and it’s been YEARS since they last saw each other in person and mark starts crying as he throws himself at jackson

-and jackson is like “DONT CRY OR I WILL” but he’s already crying

-and mark is like sobbing into his neck “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO WANG JIAER” 

-mark’s siblings are filming the entire thing

-”this is better than a drama”

-after a few minutes of them still crying jackson, sniffing all wetly, just waves one of his hands to mama tuan and croaks out “just serve everyone else we’ll be here a while” 

 

-but yeah they don’t let each other go for a long time   
-it’s a hug to make up for years ok   
-mark is wiping his tears haphazardly with his hands cuz he’s wearing a tshirt but jackson clicks his tongue and gently wipes the tears from mark’s eyes with his thumbs which probably makes mark cry some more which makes jackson cry some more   
-so jackson pulls him back into his hold and ends up giving mark a long forehead kiss to calm him down and whispers another “happy birthday” but in chinese this time wow im so soft lol   
  


-im assuming not all of marks friends are asian lol    
-so anyway markson eventually does get themselves together lol   
-mark moves back a little to meet jacksons eyes and smiles the sunniest, toothiest smile his family and friends have ever seen ever

 

-omg and like they were kids, jackson really loved seeing mark smile like that cuz that meant he was happy happy so (like when they were kids) his hands come up to pinch at mark’s cheeks and also bring him forward again so they can bump foreheads, grinning at each other like they used to 

-somehow mark finally realizes that there’s still an audience and like bites his lip as steps slightly back from jackson

-that doesn’t mean he lets go of him as he drags jackson over to greet his family and meet his friends

 

-papa tuan slaps jackson on the back before he and mama tuan are pulling him into a hug and just marveling that the smol boy that was mark’s best friend is now as tall as he is with the musculature of an athlete

-mark’s siblings pinch jackson’s cheeks and playfully squeeze his biceps and just greet him like family and jackson is grinning really wide and mark is watching him all smiley and happy 

-jackson gets to meet mark’s la friends who are surprised when jackson greets them in english since they’re been speaking in mandarin the whole time

 

-oh speaking of

-‘“oh and this is my best friend jia- no um, jackson. man it’s weird calling you that”

-”hey its weird when people call you mark too so”

 

-mark is super hyped when he learns that jackson is staying the rest of the week up until sunday

-jackson doesnt even have to ask, doesn’t even think that he needs to, knows for sure he’s gonna be staying in marks room

-mark expects him to anyway

-one of the siblings asks papa tuan if that’s ok

-”i mean they’re gonna get married anyway so…”

-”you still think they are?”

-”you don’t?”

-”...you right”

 

-mark’s family is used to mark just laughing for no reason and for a while

-but this is the most they’ve heard him laugh for /years/

-he and jackson stay up on mark’s birthday so they can catch up with each other in person

-there’s just something about telling someone about your day in person you know

-they lie down on mark’s bed next to each other, sides pressed together from head to toe as they talk

-someone grabs the others hand and they just dont let go the rest of the conversation, even if someone gestures

 

-at some point they turn on their sides to face each other 

-they stare at each other a while, both a little disbelieving that they’re seeing each other again in the flesh

-and also just taking the other in, they’ve grown a lot and even though they do video call, it’s different to see how they’ve grown in person

 

-after a few moments, mark smiles and knocks his forehead against jackson’s with a soft thump

-”i missed you, you know”

-jackson’s breath catches in his throat and his heart is jackhammering in his chest

-his hand moves to the back of mark’s neck to keep him there

-”i missed you too yien”

 

-they breathe in each other’s space for a few tense moments, noses brushing

-mark’s eyes flick down to jackson’s lips and jackson swallows audibly

-jackson hesitates but works up enough courage to move forward

-and just a centimeter from touching mark’s lips with his, mark presses the pads of his fingers to jackson’s mouth to stop him

-jackson freezes and is about to pull back and apologize and go home and cry when mark speaks

-”i want you to kiss me”

-mark looks away biting his lip, eyebrows furrowed in conflict

-”but i don’t think i could take it when you leave if you do” 

 

-jackson’s heart was breaking before, but now, doubly so

-he loves mark so much but

-he knows that mark is right

-it took them how many years to finally meet up again? 

-who knows how long it’ll be before they see each other after this too

 

-mark starts crying so of course jackson starts crying too

-jackson pulls mark to bury his face into mark’s hair as mark starts sniffling into his neck

-mark clutches at jackson’s shirt as jackson runs a hand down his back

-when they calm down a little jackson presses soft kisses on mark’s head and eyelids and high on his cheeks but avoids his lips and that just makes more tears spill from mark’s eyes

 

-”you know,” mark starts, still sniffling ”you know im going to stanford soon and you’re still planning for snu?”

-jackson nods, seoul’s where he’s got his best shot for making a fencing name for himself

-mark licks his lips, ”we get through university and then….and then we’ll try…”

-jackson blinks faster but his eyes are still wet ”why can’t we try now?”

-jackson watches mark steel himself before he meets jackson’s eyes determined

-”i don’t want you to lose an opportunity because of me -no don’t interrupt me- i don’t want either of us held down by the other, you have to promise me we’ll do our best in our respective studies-”

-”you won’t hold me down-”

-”-and then once we’ve graduated, if nothing is stopping us, then we try ok? nothing changes, you’re still my best friend-”

-”i don’t want you to be just my best friend anymore-”

-”you don’t think i don’t feel the same?! i just want us to have no regrets! i don’t want you to be held back by me and i want you to reach your highest potential ok? do you think this is easy for me to say? but it’s for the best so just promise me-”

-mark starts breathing heavily as he whisper screams at jackson, hitting him a few times to emphasize his point

-jackson catches his hand and pulls him back close 

-”i promise ok, i promise yien” he breathes into mark’s hair

 

-they fall asleep like that

-when they wake up, they wash their faces and they try to have as much fun as they can together, knowing that jackson has to leave at the end of the weekend and they don’t want to waste time

-mark drags him to his favorite places, to hang, to eat, to walk, everything

-jackson takes so many pictures, pictures of places, of mark, selfies of them, everything

 

-god that goodbye in the airport tho

-mark couldn’t bear to not go to the airport to say goodbye even tho he knows it’ll hurt more

-they don’t let go of each other until jackson’s plane is boarding

-that’s when they really start to cry cuz they’ll be separated for who knows how long again

-jackson brushes the tears from mark’s eyes one more time “hey a promise is a promise ok, i’ll see you soon baobei ok”

-they hug so tightly not even air can slip between them and then jackson is gone

 

-mark cries again when he goes home because on his bed is a bracelet he saw walking around with jackson but didn’t buy

-cuz he bought it’s partner that jackson was eyeing and slipped it into his carry on

-he chuckles wetly, even after all these years, they’re still so in sync 

 

-he slips on the bracelet he got from jackson with shaking fingers

-mark almost never takes off this bracelet omg he can barely part from it in the shower, even puts it back on before he’s completely dry

 

-jackson gets back to hongkong and his parents and grandparents welcome him home 

-they sit him down to eat before he goes to rest off the jet lag

-he can’t sleep but still puts off unpacking for as long as possible

-he puts his luggage away first, putting souvenirs for his friends and family on his desk and then finally emptying his carry on on his bed

-mark hasn’t called jackson about the bracelet he left on mark’s bed before he left so he hopes that mark saw it

 

-he reaches out to pick up his passport case, but something got snagged on it

-he finds the sibling bracelet of the one he left mark in his hand

-the rifles through the rest of his stuff and finds a note awkwardly shoved inbetween a few pages of his passport in mark’s neat handwriting

-”to: gaga, think of me when you wear it. love, yien”

-so ofc jackson is never taking it off for the rest of his life right haha

 

-so anyway mark’s probably getting an economics degree so he can apply it to the tuan family business and also cuz he’s good at math lol

-he has a single dorm and that’s how people figure out he’s rich lol

-people have a few misconceptions about him before they truly meet him cuz he dresses like a fuck boy lol

-ends up as a mandarin/english tutor 

-ends up being a part of a program that connect other tutors and students with ones from other universities, even overseas 

 

-that’s how mark meets bambam

-the program allows tutors to tutor other students for a stipend and bambam needs to learn more english that’s not slang lol

-they become fast friends 

 

-one day when bambam is ending his tutoring session with mark and is about to go into their gossip session, jinyoung walks in 

-bambam calls out to him in korean 

-mark be like ?? you speak korean??

-and bambam is like mark i go to university in korea???

-mark is like “oh.” lol 

-his heart hurts a second cuz jackson but then bambam starts talking and even drags jinyoung to introduce him

 

-”jinyoung-hyung this my english tutor, mark!”

-jinyoung only knows a few simple sentences and introduces himself and mark too and it’s kinda awkward

-but somehow they all manage to communicate and find out that mark is actually older than the both of them and jinyoung smacks bambam on the arm “that’s your hyung! i can’t believe you’ve been calling him informally this whole time!” 

-and mark just ends up laughing

-and his laugh is contagious ok so they all end up laughing and pretty soon jinyoung is joining in on mark and bambam’s calls

 

-they end up teaching mark a bit of korean 

-this stupid caring man probably picks up korean to learn on the side so that he can really converse properly with jinyoung and bambam in another language too

-yugyeom gets introduced on accident cuz he was following jinyoung around and jinyoung forgot about the weekly video meetings he and bambam have with mark

-yugyeom and mark probably make up really bad hybrid english korean slang despite the language barrier and jinyoung regrets his entire life

-bambam starts using them in his everyday life and jinyoung just really wants to die lol

 

-so mark gets fluent enough in korean that they can speak conversationally but not text cuz he can’t write hangul lol 

-bam, yug, and jinyoung are all like come over here we want to meet you

-mark is like idek where ya’ll at lmao

-bambam is just like transfer to snu mark hyung pleaseeee

-and mark is like its just a fucking coincidence, its one of the best unis, they wouldnt know jackson right? lol

 

-speaking of jackson,

-he and mark still text and video chat as often as they possibly can

-jackson still posts mark all over his weibo with better hd quality screenshots haha

-jackson does know bam, yug, and jinyoung because jackson knows everybody lol

-he really hits it off with bambam

-they met at an international student meeting thing so that intl students could at least know someone on campus 

-jinyoung finds him annoying but they go out for coffee?? 

-jackson ships jjp btw

-jackson found out that jaebum was supposed to be on a sport scholarship also for basketball but he wanted to pursue music instead and is much happier

 

-somehow mark also meets jaebum and youngjae during a video call that’s out of the tutoring program now cuz they’re all friends

-mark and youngjae bond over their love of dogs and of youngjae’s dog coco

-mark tells everyone immediately that he loves coco more than all of them lol

-bambam and yugyeom, fake wailing: i knew it was too good to be true!

-jaebum and mark click cuz they’re quieter souls lol

 

-anyway one day

-youngjae invites jackson over for one of their weekly hangouts at one of their apartments and jackson is like hell yeah i have no practice today finally so let’s go

-and so they walk in and bambam and jinyoung is chatting with mark over video in the kitchen as jaebum is cooking and yugyeom is trying to help but is actually just eating

-jackson is just taking off his shoes when he hears a very familiar laugh

-and then he’s sprinting off into the kitchen like !!!!!!!!!!

 

-he skids into the kitchen and almost rams into jaebum and yugyeom 

-and shoves his head in between jinyoung and bambam’s

-”YIEN <3!”

-”ahahah-what the heck, are you guys -jiaer? Jiaer?! Gaga!” 

 

-”HOW DO YOU KNOW EACH OTHER?”

-”YOU GUYS KNOW EACH OTHER???”

 

-i wish i could have jackson yelling back at them but we all know that once he sees mark that’s all he’s gonna focus on lol

-they start talking all excitedly and pretty soon automatically and without them noticing, they switch to mandarin

-yugyeom: mark hyung knows mandarin??

-bambam you know is already on it

-he’s scrolling through all of jackson’s sns that he knows of 

-and towards the bottom of jackson’s insta is a bunch of photos of a younger mark and jackson 

-he can’t read the captions cuz theyre all in chinese but bambam’s practically vibrating cuz

-1. favorite hyungs and

-2, he can’t wait to grill them haha

 

-mark eventually has to go cuz it’s late and he has class so he says goodbye to the gang and jackson, looking so delighted that jackson smiles dreamily for a few moments even after the screen has gone dark

-you know the rest of them jump on jackson the second mark hangs up lol

-bambam is like hanging off of jacksons neck demanding that he tell them how he know mark and why does jackson have a bunch of picture of him on his insta i can’t believe i didn’t notice-

-yugyeom immediately pulls out his phone to see if that’s true and like finds a picture that jackson posted from mark’s bday party a few years ago

-(i imagine it to be the happy birthday dimsum one haha)

 

-bambam starts a group chat with all seven of them

-it’s wild af omg

-youngjae sends weird ass memes when he can’t sleep 

-and pics of coco at random times to attack everyone lol

-one time jaebum had an entire existential crisis on it 

-jinyoung is a savage ok if you think he’s too busy to respond and roast you, you’re wrong

-mark is least active in the group chat but still video calls and everyone unanimously agrees its much better to see him smile over video than with an emoji


	2. twitter profiles

-they all make sure to follow each other on social media haha

-here are their profiles haha:

mark: “oH YeAh?! wELL yOu LoOk LiKe a ToMaTo!”

 

jackson: ok but jackson’s neck veins in that one live papillon performance lol

 

jinyoung: his new name is actually park yu lol

 

jaebum: just like a cat, milk is bad for the both of them haha

 

bambam: *forgets something important, like hmm maybe a passport* *immediately checks twitter*

 

youngjae: DROP THE ALBUM ALREADY

 

yugyeom: let’s both keep building our tattoo collection ✊lol


	3. posts of 190414

i was supposed to do this before jackson's birthday but oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ lol

 

👀👀👀 

 

🛫✈️🛬 leggoooo

 

i bet even mark gets cold even nice in weather like this lmao (in C btw lol)

 

tbh if my friends are late late i just start eating without them lmao


	4. narrative of 190414

Jinyoung is gonna kill him one of these day, Jackson thinks as he scurries throughout his apartment, getting ready as quick as he humanly can. His Coach had kept him a little later than Jackson thought he would and so he ran home and immediately jumped into the shower, no doubt winning an Olympic medal in scrubbing and shampooing. While he knows that Jinyoung wouldn’t really kill him (maybe), Jackson is sure, however, that he’ll order and eat all the food at their usual restaurant and give Jackson the bill if Jackson isn’t there in oh, twenty minutes. 

 

It’s only Jackson’s fencing agility that keeps him on his feet when he lunges for a towel across his tiled bathroom floor, toweling aggressively as he races to his closet and throws on an outfit as he towels his hair dry.

 

Jackson hops around on one foot as he tries to slip on his shoe and pull his arm through one of his adidas jackets at the same time when his cell phone rings out with a familiar tune. He almost trips getting to his phone fast enough to answer it, not wanting the other person calling to wait long. 

 

The person on the other line doesn’t even wait to say hello -knows that they don’t have to. “Hey, are you still at home?”

 

“Yien! Hi- I -yeah?” Jackson’s voice rises a slight octave higher in question, panting slightly into the phone, keeping it sandwiched between his shoulder and cheek as hobbles around. 

 

He hears Mark sigh in relief on the other end. “Okay, good. I sent you something and I just wanna make sure you got it.”

 

If Jackson could physically reach across the ocean that separated them, he would have hit him. “Seriously?! Yien! No! You didn’t have to send me anything! You already sent something for my birthday, there’s no need for you to send more-”

 

Jackson can practically  _ hear  _ his eye roll. “Just go out and check if it’s there oh my god…”

 

Jackson sighs. It’s too late to take it back anyway if Mark really did send something so he might as well appreciate (send back, what the  _ heck _ Yien) what’s waiting for him. “ _ Fine _ .”

 

He moves, mumbling faint objections into the phone speaker about ‘Mark not having to get him anything more what the hell man’, finally putting his shoe fully on as well as getting his other arm into the jacket, settling the fabric over his shoulders as he grabs his phone in his hand. He moves to unlock the locks on his door and pulls it open with a fake grunt of effort and freezes, dropping his phone.

 

Mark smiles down at him from under a recently bleached fringe. His cheeks are rosy from the chilly spring breeze blowing outside and his canines shine in the hallway lights. “Surprise?” 


	5. posts of 190417

jackson is me in class

 

several hours before 😋

 

before dinner 🙏🥰❣️


	6. narrative of 190417

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> continuation of the last chapter

Jackson shrieks so loud he probably breaks a sound barrier or two. He jumps at Mark, who’s waiting with expectant open arms and glomps him like a koala. Mark giggles right next to his ear, light and airy and Jackson feels like he’s been hit in the head. 

 

He pulls back after a while, dazed. “What are you doing here?”

 

Mark pouts at him and oh my god Jackson would do anything for him- “Do you not want me here?” He asks, playful. 

 

“I’ll always want you,” Jackson says, the words out of his mouth before he can think them through. 

 

Mark blinks rapidly as his cheeks turn a bright baby pink; he looks away for a moment, biting his lip. Jackson clears his throat and when Mark turns back to look at him, he reaches for Mark’s luggage. 

 

When they both wheel Mark’s luggage over his threshold, Jackson glances back and asks when’s his hotel check in. Mark reaches to scratch the back of his neck, eyes hesitantly peeking from up under his lashes to look at Jackson. “Um, never? I thought I could just stay with you, but I can always get a room if-”

 

“What? No! Yien don’t be ridiculous, of course you can stay here.” 

 

Mark’s answering smile is so bright it makes Jackson want to wear sunglasses. 

 

-

 

“Where the fuck is he? I’m starving!” Jinyoung states, deadpan, as he crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back into his seat. Jaebum’s foot is tapping in a metronomic beat on the floor and Yugyeom and Bambam are contemplating sword fighting with the chopsticks, Youngjae has his phone out to record them if they do. It’s been five minutes since they all arrived. 

 

“Why don’t you just start? You called him out on twitter we might as well start ordering now, hyung-” Bambam says, trying not to smile.

 

Jinyoung sighs and pulls a menu towards himself, flipping through it. The others don’t reach for the other menus knowing that Jinyoung would wait for Jackson anyway. That bitch. That  _ late  _ bitch. 

 

“If he isn’t here in the next minute I’m ordering.” 

 

Jaebum rolls his eyes. They all know that’s a lie. “Jinyoungie, we haven’t even been here that long-”

 

They all perk up when they hear Jackson’s booming voice. They can’t make out what he’s saying but that doesn’t matter. “Finally,” Jinyoung breathes as turns slightly in his seat towards the direction of Jackson’s voice to scold him. “You’re late-”

 

Jackson isn’t alone though. He’s grinning-laughing actually, heading their way with another person who he’s dragging by the hand towards them. Jackson is grinning so widely that his eyes are crescents and his teeth shine in the light, his laughter honking around the restaurant. The other person with him is a man with blond hair. He’s wearing black ripped jeans and a loose, oversized T-shirt and matching jacket. He has a few piercings in his ears and his body is slim and face small; when he looks over at them his smile widens into a familiar grin that Jinyoung’s only seen over a laptop screen and his heart lurches because-

 

“Mark hyung!!” Bambam screeches, vaulting over both Yugyeom and Youngjae to get out of their booth and launch himself at the very present, very there Mark Tuan. 

 

“Hyung! Hyung! Hyung!” Bambam shouts as he jumps up and down in Mark’s arms, arms around his waist. Mark lets go of Jackson’s hand and wraps his arms around Bambam’s shoulders even as the younger man jostles him, laughing excitedly. “Bammie!” 

 

Youngjae and Yugyeom are tripping out of their seats too and try to wrestle an arm each off of Bambam to clutch at, even as Bambam doesn’t let Mark go. 

 

“Bambam let go!”

 

“Share him, come on!” 

 

Bambam turns his head to stick his tongue out at them and then buries his face back into Mark’s chest, clutching at him. Even though Mark had messaged him a few weeks back about visiting, Bambam’s never actually imagined what it would be like to meet the man who has become one of his bestest friends. It’s honestly better than he’s ever imagined. 

 

Mark isn’t as tall as he’d imagined and he’s leagues prettier than what a laptop screen makes him look like. He smells like sunshine and clean linen and his smile is brighter than the lights in the restaurant could ever be. He’s smaller than Bambam thought he’d be too -had talked to Jackson hyung about Mark hyung and found out that Mark was a martial artist. While Mark is not lanky but lean and his arms are sturdy around Bambam, he looks slight and on this side of barely old enough that Bambam just wants to protect him forever. 

 

Bambam, Youngjae, and Yugyeom whines when they get pulled away by the backs of their shirts as Jinyoung pushes them aside to get to Mark himself, glaring at them before turning to face Mark with a smile. “Mark hyung!” 

 

(“He doesn’t even call  _ me _ hyung,” Jackson mutters to the side, arms crossed and pouting. Jaebum pats him on the back before he moves forward too.)

 

Mark greets Jinyoung and Jaebum with a smile and hug each, too deep into their lives and group chat that bows and handshakes are completely unnecessary. When Jackson spies the wait staff giving them looks he ushers them all back into the boothe. “Let’s order, I’m hungry!” 

 

They all sit down, the maknaes fighting to sit down next to Mark. Bambam wins out with well placed pinches to sides and arms and Mark pulls Jackson down on his other side to sit next to him decidedly. 

 

Jackson grabs a menu off the table and lays it out between him and Mark. He points at different dishes, making comments on what Mark should try, what he doesn’t like, advising what not to try cuz Mark doesn’t like it, and after a look from Mark, shows him the spicy section with a muttered “I’m not gonna eat any of this so you better finish your food, Tuan Yien.” 

 

Mark sticks his tongue out at him and turns back to the menu, pointing at different dishes and shooting rapid fire questions at Jackson unknowingly in Mandarin. They speak comfortably with each other, jabbing fingers and elbows into each other’s sides, leaning close enough to share air; it’s like they’ve never been apart. Jinyoung and Bambam share knowing looks over their own opening menus. 

 

One of the waitstaff walk up to their table to ask for their orders, they all list out what they individually want, Yugyeom adding extra things when Jinyoung is giving his own order. Jackson can eat enough for an army somedays, having to keep his caloric intake consistent for his sport, but even the order he gives the waiter is unnecessarily long. It’s only after the waiter had left that Youngjae jerks in sudden realization, Yugyeom and Bambam play quarreling next to him. 

 

“Wait! Mark hyung, you didn’t order!” 

 

Mark looks up, pausing his pouring out of the complimentary tea, head tilting to the side in confusion. “Jackson ordered for me?” 

 

The rest of the table nods in acceptance, giving each other exasperated looks. They should have known. This is gonna be a dinner and a show all in one. Yugyeom thinks that Mark and Jackson’s multilingual conversations are the coolest thing ever when they keep accidentally lasping the lines of language, blurring Mandarin, Korean, and English together as smoothly as a cut crease. 

 

Their dinner is spent enjoying the good food and basking in the good company, They all get to experience Mark’s high pitched giggle in the ultra HD that can only be achieved in person and also see just how bad Jackson has it in real time too. Eventually, the food and drink run out and bellies are blown and bloated in all the best ways. Their table is cleared and Jackson pays for the bill before anyone can stop him. 

 

“Hyung, no!”

 

“Jackson! What the hell! We said we’d split-”

 

“ _ Wang Jiaer _ .”

 

Jackson grins at each of them, accepting his receipt. His eyes soften when no one’s glares slide off of their faces. “Guys, come on, it’s okay! Think of it as a treat because Mark’s here!” 

 

Mark hits him in the arm, puffs his cheeks and pouts, a noise of complaint sounding from his throat. “I get next time then,” he states. 

 

“No!” Everyone says, aggregate. 

 

“Mark hyung, you’re the guest, don’t worry about anything,” Jaebum says, face serious and eyes set. 

 

“Hyung, don’t worry about it, okay? We’ll take care of you,” Jinyoung iterates, echoing Jaebum. 

 

“How long are you staying for anyway?” Bambam asks, leaning against Mark’s side. 

 

“Ummm.” Mark scratches his cheek, sheepish. “A while….”

 

Jackson rolls his eyes. “That could mean one week to one month with you, just tell us already.” He throws his arm over Mark’s shoulder, elbow leaning on his chair as his fingers poke his back, tap on his neck, play with the locks of his hair. 

 

Mark meets the eyes of everyone at the table for the exact same amount of time before settling to stare at the middle of the table. “A while, you know, like….a year?” 

 

Mark flinches when Jackson’s fingers accidentally pull on his hair. “What?!”

  
Mark can feel the laser focus of everyone when he rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone, scrolling through his email and pulling up the one subjected  _ RE: Transfer Application _ . He lays his phone out on the table and bites his lip, smile forming slow but sure, the sun rising above the horizon. “Surprise?”


	7. posts of 190421

jackson really is the only one kept out of the loop lmao

 

jackson’s snapchat story

 

some recently added songs on jackson’s (pining) playlist lol (“cuz theyre good,” jackson says “sure,” jinyoung replies)


	8. posts of 190430

who tf posts minutes before a final?? me apparently lmao

 

jackson thought having mark here would be great but its actually bad -for his heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/missgine)   
> 


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